


Prologue: Curse of the Fallen Soul

by CavalierConvoy



Series: MTMTE Series One: Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun [1]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers Generation Two, Transformers: Beast Machines
Genre: Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 05:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3108230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CavalierConvoy/pseuds/CavalierConvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Artemis and Cavalier, boarding the Lost Light was a given: a chance to start over. With friends both old and new throughout the colourful crew, they have a place to call home. </p><p>But for Pantera and Hellfire, the Lost Light is a symbol of a cracking universe; thrown into the past with a double set of memories, they need to work out the mystery of their displacement, and how to correct it from destroying reality altogether.</p><p>(Chapter Continuum Timeline: following "Interiors" of the IDW More Than Meets The Eye series.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prologue: Curse of the Fallen Soul

_How many times can fate be chanced, the dice be rolled_  
_is there no path of least resistance for the bold_  
_(It's never sought and rarely taken)_  
_Shocked and dismayed at how it stole his life_  
_When this fateful course of action takes its toll_

—["Curse of the Fallen Soul"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh-szjy3jrM) by Dropkick Murphys, from _The Gang's All Here_

 

Four Winds Bar

Kethys, Sirius II

Now

 

“Cybertron?” Octane laughed — a cough, really. “Sorry, babe, but there’s a no-fly zone in place. We barely got out of there in time before the lockdown.”

“Though I’m curious,” Sandstorm interjected, “who are you, and why us?”

The smaller Autobot — at least, judging by her insignia on her left shoulder, she was an Autobot — crossed her arms over her chest and met the orange and black triple changer with a stoic expression. “Name’s Pantera,” the felinoid femme stated. Nodding to her companion, a winged powerhouse a head taller than she, she introduced, “This is my apprentice, Hellfire. We’re investigating the disappearance of the _Lost Light_.”

“’Disappearance,’ eh?” Octane took a pull of his drink. “You’re not in the camp of quest-meeting-a-fiery-end, then?”

<<Quantum engines or no, there would be debris,>> Hellfire transmitted; his projected voice was youthful, in contrast with his shell. <<And to answer the second part of your question, you have _Shadowstar_ , the Wreckers’ Warworld.>>

Octane and Sandstorm shared a quick glance before returning their attention to the smaller, bestial Transformers. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sandstorm grumbled into his drink. His tone spoke otherwise.

“Don’t know anything about this ‘ _Shadowstar_ ’ slag,” Octane picked up the dialogue, “but we barely got the Fraggin’ Waggon out of Cybertronian orbit; only reason we made it here was the preset.”

“And with no pilot, we aren’t going anywhere,” Sandstorm continued.

“But the _Wreckers’ Spoils_ is not a typical Warworld, is it?” Pantera observed. “When Starscream merged with it, he — and the Matrix — left residual programming.”

Sandstorm remained cool, calculating. “You know a lot about our ship,” he leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table’s surface. “We don’t talk about this casually with anyone, you know.”

“We’re not just ‘anyone,’” Pantera dropped her arms, now resting her hands on her hips. “As I said, we’re investigating the _Lost Light_. It’s in everyone’s best interest the ship and crew be found. And the key is the navigation systems of _Shadowstar_.”

“Still have no clue about what you’re talking about,” Sandstorm stated.

<<Rodimus never mentioned _Shadowstar_ , the mirror _Spoils_? >> Hellfire cocked his head to one side; behind his visor glinted a flash of blue.

Octane whistled through his teeth. “Sandy—”

“Yeah, I know,” Sandstorm waved away the baited comment. To Pantera, he now stood, rounding the table; she came to his mid-thigh, but his presence did nothing to intimidate her. “Look, we don’t like talking about this for a reason. We nearly lost everything during the Legion conflict. Why would we want to dig at those wounds?”

“Because you, too, want to find your friends,” Pantera wasted no time, pulled no punches. “You’re worried. You’ve been watching the news feeds. You know what will happen if Bumblebee loses control of the situation on Cybertron. We want to help. Trust us, there’s nothing more we want to do than to help.”

“So you believe the Knights of Cybertron slag?” Octane questioned.

<<There’s fact within legend,>> Hellfire shrugged. <<But the fact remains that half the Matrix is on board the _Lost Light_ , the other on Cybertron, and with Orion Pax on his own quest, we need to pull our race together.>>

“Yeah, about that, Shorty,” Octane snapped his fingers. “Never seen ‘Bots like you before.”

“Transmetal mutation at our outpost,” Pantera rifled, “a few of us were subjected to an experimental weapon with unexpected results. Hellfire and I were exposed to a second wave. Which,” her face broke into a sharp grin, “much to the chagrin of the ‘Cons, didn’t help their cause any.”

<<We were assigned to a planet with only rudimentary intelligent life,>> Hellfire continued in his even, innocent tone, <<so we took the forms of the local fauna. Well, they did; I came late in the game. But that’s neither here nor there. Right now, we need to locate the _Lost Light,_ and we can't do that without your help. >>

“Without a pilot, we can’t,” Sandstorm explained. “And it’s likely Starscream wired the navigation to respond only to him.”

“Which is why we picked up and ran,” Octane pointed out. "We're stuck here."

<<That shouldn’t be an issue for me,>> Hellfire flexed his light-filament wings, flaring orange. <<My specialty is navigation and piloting systems.>>

“So you’re…scientists?” Sandstorm questioned.

Pantera nodded to her companion again. “He is. Me and Blue are the grunts.”

<<Don’t let her lead you on,>> Hellfire corrected, <<She’s a detective.>>

“Got another running with you?” Octane asked.

“He’s with our starhopper, trying to fix our jump drive.”

<<Last jump was…turbulent.>>

The triple changers shared another glance.

“If we could get our ship up and running …” Octane began.

Sandstorm tilted his chin but did not add to the statement. “Look, we’ll take you to the ship. But you answer some of our questions on the way. Agreed?”

“We’ve nothing to hide, Sandstorm,” Pantera held out her hands, palms up. “We have a common goal. You want to learn what happened to your comrades; so do we.”

Octane stood with a groan. “I’ll settle the tab; meet you there.”

Sandstorm granted him the barest of nods, then flipped his thumb to the exit. “Pantera, Hellfire…follow me.”

“Right behind you,” Pantera agreed, falling into step with the Autobot triple-changer.

The larger vehicles and crafts were docked in the suborbital stations above the planet; Sandstorm swiped a card into the reader, unlocking the door to the hangar.

"Thank you," Pantera broke the silence.

Sandstorm spun on his heel, staring down the smaller Autobots. "How do you know us?" he demanded. "Where we would be? I can't figure it out. You're outpost Autobots, you don't sound like you've been to either Cybertron or Earth for a long time. You didn't react to Octane still sporting the violet. You knew about us, you knew where to find us. I want to know how and why."

<<That's easy,>> Hellfire interjected. <<You ran with Artemis. Former Four Winds merc, left on amiable terms — they extended their hospitality to her friends, granted them asylum. Especially your friend. Neither of you would renounce your affiliations, yet you remain steadfast friends. Only one place where you'd be able to hold onto that.>>

"As to how we knew about you," Pantera smirked, "Fisitron, aka Ironfist."

<<Heavy on the adverbs, but otherwise accurate representations of Wreckers history.>>

"We're set to go," Octane reported, rejoining the group. "We have a plan?"

"Looks like Ironfist sold us out," Sandstorm informed.

"If one could call 'writing fanfiction on historical events' selling us out," the taller triple changer grinned. "Anyone who calls me ravishingly roguish can sell me out any day."

Sandstorm gave his companion a withering glare but addressed the smaller 'bots. " _Wreckers' Spoils_ is tethered to Dock 74, Bay 11. Lift C will take us to the suborbital station. We got clearance?"

Octane nodded. "Boss dog wasn't too keen, but when I told him we were going after Art, he agreed."

"Which is the only reason why we're aiding you two," Sandstorm stressed, slamming opening the gate to the lift.

"Three," Pantera corrected.

<<He'll meet up with us at the dock,>> Hellfire reported. <<The 'Hopper's scrap.>>

"So we're now your only ticket off this rock," Octane harrumphed as the lift eased upward, gaining speed.

<<Correction: we're your only ticket off this rock,>> Hellfire pointed out. <<You can't fly the ship without me.>>

"Cocky little spawn of a glitch, ain't he?" Octane directed the question to Sandstorm.

"We have yet to prove that," Sandstorm agreed. "Warworlds aren't like regular Autobot ships —"

<<They're wet-wired interfaces,>> Hellfire interjected. <<That's how Starsscream was able to merge with the ship. Trust me, I'm all too familiar with the set up.>>

"So, Hellfire," Octane changed the subject. "What kind of name is that? Strikes fear in the sparks of your enemies, I'd imagine, if it weren't for that protoform-fresh tone of yours."

<<Originally, my name was Skyfire, after the famous Autobot scientist.>>

"He goes by Jetfire now," Sandstorm interjected.

"Not quite the witness protection identity, but you get the point," Octane added.

<<I survived a massacre, barely got out of there. Found myself at 'Tera's camp. Then I got captured by the 'Cons. I got dragged to Hell, then back again. Found myself in this shell, minus my voice. 'Trapped' doesn't even cover it.>>

"So you don't know what happened to your voice?" Sandstorm questioned.

<<I do, actually.>> Hellfire did a half-shrug, half-nod. <<'Tera's _conjunx endura_ ripped it out while I was still under 'Con control. I remember enough of what happened. >>

Pantera rested a hand on Hellfire's shoulder, then the back of his neck. "I'm just glad we have you back, Sky," she whispered.

An awkward cycle passed, then another. Hellfire cleared his throat — a jarring, electronic screech.

"How did you know about _Shadowstar_?" Sandstorm demanded. "That's something even Ironfist couldn't have access to."

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask," Pantera shook her head with a smile. " _Shadowstar_ was what Rodimus — Hot Rod — called the _Spoils_."

<<He wasn't the only one who returned from the failed universe,>> Hellfire added. <<We learnt about _Shadowstar_ through another 'Bot who made it through, barely. Told us about Hot Rod, about _Shadowstar_ , about Art and the Wreckers. Almost legend, except that it was all true.>>

"When we heard about the explosion, we figured there had to be a connection to the failed universe, which is why we started investigating," Pantera explained.

<<With the Matrix still in play, but split in two, it means that likely the _Lost Light_ is still in this 'verse, more likely than not intact. Otherwise, Bumblebee would have both halves in his possession. >>

"But you never doubted they survived, did you?" the felinoid Autobot observed, the corner of her mouth flicking upward.

Octane harrumphed. "When you run with the likes of us, babe, always bet on black. Especially when she's she's dual-wielding."

The doors opened to the suborbital station; traffic in the corridors were sparse. Amongst those traipsing the circuit, a single Cybertronian stood sentinel, from the same stock of the smaller Autobots but taller than Pantera and Hellfire. Arms crossed over his chest, blue and gold with violet highlights, he had a permanent scowl on his otherwise featureless faceplate. Unlike Pantera and Hellfire, he was less patchwork, more symmetrical. Upon seeing his comrades, he dropped his arms and marched towards them, halting a hands-breath from Pantera.

"We're on?" he questioned, his voice low, gravelled. She said nothing, only nodded. "You trust them?"

"Absolutely," she assured.

"Even the 'Con?"

"Especially the 'Con."

Octane had a retort planned, but bit down on it when Pantera vouched for him. "Say what?"

"You're a Wrecker, regardless of what colour you're flying." Pantera's stance never changed, but her optics darted to look up at the black and silver Decepticon. "This is Depth Charge."

"'Hopper's fragged. We ain't going nowhere in that," Depth Charge growled.

"So Hellfire said, but Sandstorm and Octane's agreed to help," Pantera stated, returning her gaze to the largest beast-based Autobot.

Now Depth Charge regarded the larger Cybertronians; like his faceplate, his brow was in a permanent frown. "'Tera calls the shots," he snarled. "She's the one with the intel."

<<And here we go with the territorial pissing,>> Hellfire rolled his optics.

"Oi, what did I tell you about broadcasting your internal monologue?" Pantera scolded.

"Remind you of someone?" Octane smirked, casting a glance to his companion.

Sandstorm was not as amused. "You board a Wrecker ship, you abide by Wrecker rules. Pantera, you keep your boys in line, and we'll work out fine. We took orders from only one 'Bot, and she isn't here, which puts me in charge of the _Spoils_."

"Art liked me better," Octane muttered.

<<May I remind you that you need a pilot, and I'm the only one able to pull that trick out of my head,>> Hellfire retorted.

"Oi!" Pantera warned, breaking away from Depth Charge's space. "We're losing light, and we need to get out of here ASAP. Sandstorm's right; he's got the authority. We're the ones asking for their help."

The trip to Bay 11 was another three cycles; even with the long gait of the full-size Autobot and Decepticon, the three smaller Cybertronians kept pace.

Without the influence of the Matrix, _Wreckers' Spoils_ was, from the exteriour, the standard horror of a Warworld: oblong, hollowed-out asteroid, with engines mounted on the aft and turrets on the bow. What differed from the rest of Thunderwing's fleet was the modified Autobot symbol — blue, with a hammer for the bridge and brow — where the Decepticon insignia had been.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid," Octane directed to Hellfire.

The gold, red, and blue Autobot glanced up; his optics hidden, he flashed a smirk that chilled Octane's spark. <<You just get me to the pilot's chair, and I'll make certain you find your leader.>>

 

 **NEXT CHAPTER:** Sabotage

**Author's Note:**

> [My NaNoWriMo 2014 project](http://nanowrimo.org/participants/kabaryu/novels/shoot-straight-with-a-crooked-gun)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> This was a project I had planned two weeks into October, a next-to-last-minute decision to participate in National Novel Writing Month of this year. After losing steam with editing _Rusty Angels,_ I found that attempting to work around my writing of ten-plus years ago was exhausting, and I was chomping at the bit to play in the IDW universe. Although I was reluctant to abandon my concepts and ideas in _Rusty Angels_ because it was delving into my bridge from the Generation One cartoon (which touched with bits and pieces of Dreamwave Comics) to the basis of my then-favourite TF series, the Generation Two comics, but things happened at that point in my life: crazy, some amazing, some heart-wrenching, some beautiful things, but still things that placed my fandoms on hold for real life.
> 
> Fast forward to now, minus six month ago: July 2014. Looking for something to do, my spouse, my best friend, and I decided to kill time by seeing _Age of Extinction_. Other than Crosshairs, I was not impressed. (My reaction? "Pfft. Wheelie did it first." Recently, I think the best thing to come out of AoE was the fanart.) So to cheer myself up, I hit Netflix and tried out Transformers: Prime.
> 
> 'Tried'? I mean 'binge-watched over the course of a long weekend and now I'm in love with Wheeljack'. 
> 
> And then the incomparable Warlord Enfilade introduced me to the IDW comics. 
> 
> The next thing I knew, I was cosplaying holomatter avatar Whirl. (I have a partially completed holomatter Rung and started a full 'bot suit of Brainstorm as well.) Looks like I'm back in the fandom now.
> 
> So back to the flaming wreckage of _Rusty Angels._ I am a science geek. I love the concept of quantum mechanics (which stemmed long before the character of Nautica, but that's for another time) and multidimensional mathematics and physics, and the IDW More Than Meets The Eye comics set up an existing framework of flashbacks, flash forwards, and flash sideways, why couldn't I pick up and incorporate my outline already set up, as well as integrate my unfinished works in Beast Wars and Beast Machines?
> 
> And thus, _Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun_ was established, using a framework similar to how MTMTE and the series formally known as Robots in Disguise worked, I decided to alternate the chapters: the odd-numbered chapters involving Pantera's point of view and past events in scattered, ofttimes disjointed and out-of-order, utilising the outlines and revisiting past fanfics; and the even-numbered, Artemis's, always in the now. These follow events that happened in the actual comic, whether directly or indirectly, and although there are references to Season Two (following Dark Cybertron), I plan on keeping close to the existing series. 
> 
> My goal is to post a chapter a week; at the end of NaNoWriMo, I had 24 chapters; as of tonight, that has increased to 40. My plan is to have at least 52 to complete the year, and by the time this year's NaNo comes around, I'll start season two. 
> 
> Much like James Roberts, I too have a soundtrack to my writing; although he has an impressive taste for indie, alternative, folk, and classic rock, my tastes tend to run more along the harder stuff: punk, metal, post-punk, goth, industrial, grunge; some obscure, some not. The season's theme is ["Shoot Straight with a Crooked Gun" by Davana.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nAqQu3pdsM) Each chapter, if applicable, will have their song in the title, with an exert and a link. Follow my [Tumblr Account](http://cavalierconvoy.tumblr.com/) for updates, soundtrack links, and art. And other randomness TF-related.
> 
> For those who are interested (although I will warn _caveat emptor_ ), my old fanfiction is still available on [The Lexicon](http://transformersfanfic.com/viewuser.php?uid=111). I am a bit embarrassed of the quality of the work, and, as Fil stated whilst we were pounding back the Lord Calvert's and watching _Headmasters_ this past summer, I tried to put too much original content into it, tried to bind too much to the story. I was wordy, abused adverbs, overused "however" and "somewhat", and overall sucked at keeping plotholes tied up. The ones I am happiest with are the Generation One "Past Zero Time" (when I cracked down on tying up plotholes and developed my main original character out of the cliched "reformed 'Con" stereotype), Beast Wars "Struggle Within" and "Wrath of the Fallen One" (both of which were two sides of a coin), and Beast Machines "Spirit of the Age". My least favourites are the first two, "Till All Are One" and "Belief Module". As an added bonus, this archive also includes some of my old drawings and bios (some dated) of canon and original characters.


End file.
